March/April Issue 60 - Flipbook - Page 27
NEWS
USING THE ‘FIND AN ATF’ SERVICE
Tom Pincott at ETM Group in Bristol
describes how the service is driving
business and making better use of
their ATF lane:
“We just stick all the data in and it
basically does everything for us. We
seem to get new business because
all the information is there.”
Last year we developed the ‘Find
an ATF’ service. This allows
Authorised
Testing
Facilities
(ATFs) to share information about
short-term test availability and
helps operators to find sites that
have tests available.
The improvements were introduced
after we restarted testing in July
2020. We wanted to support
operators and ATFs as initial MOT
exemptions started to come to an
end. So we worked with ATFs and
vehicle operators to improve the
‘Find an ATF’ service.
As we enter the busy autumn period,
we are reminding ATFs to keep their
booking availability up to date on the
service. This will help ATFs attract
business and help operators who
need appointments.
There are just over 550 ATFs in
Great Britain and the ‘Find an ATF’
page helps ATFs to promote their
service.
It’s interactive and shows which
sites have provided their availability.
Operators can also click on the name
of the ATF to access to their website
directly, where this link is provided.
HELPING ATFS TO BUILD
BUSINESS
A recent survey about the new
service brought positive responses.
A number of ATFs reported that they
had got new business from using the
service.
on the Friday. Their amended details
will be updated by the next day.
CHECK THE ATF FACILITY CAN
TEST YOUR VEHICLES
When booking an ATF site, check:
•
the ATF site you’re looking at can
cater for your type of vehicle(s)
such as HGV or PSV - not all
sites carry out the same tests
•
any height restrictions
•
whether you need an ATF with a
dangerous goods classification
HELPING OPERATORS TO FIND
AN ATF WITH TESTS AVAILABLE
The service is really straightforward
to use.
All customers need to do is enter
their postcode which will find the
nearest ATFs to their location and
show whether a site has availability.
It’s now a lot easier for a customer to
find sites with appointments before
they call to book a test.
It offers operators a wider choice
of ATFs because every site within
their postcode area will be listed and
whether they have test availability.
This helps operators to find
alternative sites more quickly than
they may have previously been able
to. For some sites, there will be no
availability information because we
have not received any details from
the ATF.
Ian Evans, Owner of Mile Trade
Centre in Lydney, Gloucestershire
and Tom Pincott of ETM group,
Bristol, share their experience of
using the service.
HOW AVAILABILITY IS UPDATED
ATFs receive an email every Friday
asking for their availability.
When they reply to this email, their
details on the ‘Find an ATF’ service
will be updated immediately when
they use the ‘update’ link.
The web page shows the ATF
classification and what it is approved
to test.
IF YOU ARE HAVING PROBLEMS
FINDING A TEST
If you’ve contacted all the ATFs within
a reasonable distance and have not
been able to book a test with them,
you can report this to us using the
link at the bottom of the ‘Find an ATF’
page.
We will ask you to explain your
circumstances and when you need
a test for. We particularly want to
help operators who are unable to
get a test during the months we are
expecting high demand.
We are encouraging operators to use
the MOT expiry checker to check the
vehicle expiry in advance of the high
demand this autumn.
We’re keen to hear more from
operators and ATFs about the
service, so please share your views
in the comments section below.
Source: Driver and Vehicle Standards
Agency
ATFs can update availability at any
time by using the email they receive
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